Enjoy the Little Things
by aprikii
Summary: The literature club was a place she thought she could space off with stories, but the little things he would do or she would notice distracted her mind. (Shika/Hina)
1. One

**A.N:** Short drabbles that are connected to each other about Shikamaru and Hinata's fluff romance at a literature club in high school.

* * *

 **Little Things:** One

* * *

Her eyes stared at the wooden door knowing very well who would be on the other side of it. She couldn't help but to glance down at her shoes as her stomach began to create random butterflies inside. The habit of poking her index fingers brought her back to the days of standing in front of her father with his disillusionment eyes except in this situation it wasn't due to fear of disappointment, but more of fear of making a fool out of herself. She did not wish or the events that happened last meeting to reoccur again.

Hinata heard laughter coming from the other side of the door and that caused her to make a decision: bolt out and come back the next meeting. And she knew all too well that she wouldn't be coming back to that room, not after what happened last time.

Just as she was about to leave, the door to the room she dreaded to go inside; opened. Her eyes widen and her hands clutched together as her palms began to sweat. The blood of her heart began to flow upwards to her cheeks causing her body temperature to become hot. How she wished she had taken Tenten's invitation to go get ice cream since her volleyball club activities were cancelled due to some scheduling problems with the basketball team.

"Hey Hinata you're here!" shouted an overjoyed male that was most likely a couple of inches taller than her. "Hey Shikamaru, she came back!"

Oh how she wished she left school with her bun haired friend. Cautiously she turned her head to face the overzealous blond teenager. His smile was contagious, but when she smiled at him it was more of a twitch of nervousness. She had been caught just as she was going to leave the building.

"H-Hello Uzumaki-kun…" she stuttered out. Not wanting to stay she quickly rambled inside her head what excuse she could give to the blond. But wait did he say Shikamaru? Oh no.

"So you're going to join the Literature Club? Have you turned in your admission paper to Chojuro-senpai and Kurotsuchi-senpai?" asked the curious Uzumaki Naruto as he was happy to see her.

The sheepish Hinata gave him only silence as she looked down at the ground. She could not answer him as her voice was stuck. It was as if someone had robbed the sound of her voice the moment she saw the blond face to face. What could she say to him after last club meeting?

"Hey you two," uttered the voice that gave her stomach butterflies to stir uncontrollably. "Naruto you need to put the books away just like Kurotsuchi-senpai said to do. I don't want to deal with her temper."

His onyx eyes were staring right at her milky white ones. It was those eyes that caused her to question everything she desired. Now everything was just a mystery.

Just like his onyx eyes.


	2. Two

**A/N:** I think the relationship between Hinata and Naruto will be explained more in different little scenes. When I was writing this I noticed how out of character she is with him; not stuttering or blushing around him, so I was nervous that people would think she's so weird with him.

* * *

 **Little Things:** Two

* * *

Her eyes settled on the page before her. Her attention and thoughts were engrossed with the story of the book that lay on her lap. The room was quiet enough for her to concentrate on what she was reading, while the vice president was sorting out the books on the shelf in alphabetical order by genre. Hinata was grateful for these peaceful moments at the club because she knew once a certain blond hair member entered the room - her mind would go somewhere else. And especially if his friend was there in the room as well.

But right now, she was enjoying every bit of context she was getting from this tiny book she had in her lap. The story captivated her in ways that romance novels would do, but this fiction did not have any hint of romance. It was one of the most famous books of Agatha Christie, Murder of the Orient Express. The British author captivated her by the words she would describe the scenes. Hinata was not the type to read detective novels, but a certain individual had it and it caught her curiosity. So here she was now reading one of the most world-famous detective books in the tiny literature club room.

The sudden noise of the door opening caused the vice president and Hinata to stop what they were doing when the blond member and his friend entered the room. The signature smile that Hinata knew all too well made the room much brighter than what it was before. Somehow the blond boy could make any environment brighter, much to Hinata's muse. Her attention then rested to his companion who looked bored out of his mind and a small scowl on his lips. Perhaps something had happened before these two entered the room.

"Hey everyone! Uzumaki Naruto is here!"

The vice president, Kurotsuchi, gave the blond teenager a glare before putting the last book she had in her hand on the shelf. "You realize that this isn't a club to just burst in with such a loud mouth."

"Ahh, sorry Kurotsuchi-senpai," Naruto said with a hand behind his back and laughing nervously. His blue eyes were then fixed on the other female of the room. "Hinata! Guess what!"

Hinata closed her book and looked at the boy who enthusiastically began telling her the story of beating Sasuke into a basketball match during the physical education class. Knowing full well how this would bring him in high moods, Hinata congratulated him. Ever since elementary school, both Sasuke and Naruto would have these interesting challenges. It was mainly Naruto starting it, but she was amazed that Sasuke would accept. There were times that Naruto would burst into her classroom and announced for Sasuke to meet him outside for a challenge. She could only be amused by the high energy that Naruto had. Her focus then turned to the dark haired boy, whose scowl had disappeared moments ago.

Nara Shikamaru sat down on the chair opposite of hers. His head rested in his arms and she noticed that he began to close his eyes. Curiosity got the best of her and Hinata began to study Shikamaru's lazy form. It looked like he was tired and she wondered if it had to do with Naruto and Sasuke's challenge. A small groan escaped his lips.

"Honestly why did you need me to play?" he grumbled out.

Naruto took the empty chair next to Hinata. His shoulder brushed hers. "Because it wouldn't be fair if it was two versus one," chuckled the blonde. "Besides Jugo is hard to beat, and you seem the type of person that can trick him and steal a shot."

"Jugo … that sounds familiar," muttered the vice president as she handed the first years cups and a small jug of water. "Is he a second year?"

Naruto shook his head. "I'm amazed he's not, but he's on the soccer team from class 1-C."

As Kurotsuchi and Naruto began to talk about the soccer team, Hinata went back into reading her novel. As much as she enjoyed Naruto's enthusiasm; she really wanted to know who the murderer was in the book. Being so engrossed in the storytelling, she did not notice black onyx eyes observing her fingertips as she flipped the page. Unknown to the club members, Shikamaru hid a smile behind his palm, knowing full well why she had chosen to read that book. His eyes rested on the title of the book for a while before engaging himself in the conversation with Naruto and Kurotsuchi.

It wasn't until later in the afternoon that the group decided it was best to head home. Kurotsuchi had to meet the president of the club, Chojuro, in the theater room since the drama club had requested his help. Naruto was called by Haruno Sakura to meet up with her and two others since they had a math test the following week. That left for Shikamaru and Hinata to close the club room before they left.

His onyx eyes rested on the black kanji that was inside his book; he was reading the infamous Sherlock Holmes. He rose his eyebrow as he read the part where Doctor Watson meets his future wife, Mary Morstan. Unknown to him that pearly eyes studied him as she placed a couple of books away. It was interesting how open the procrastinator was when he would read books. His facial features would change every once in a while, and it caused Hinata to ponder what he was reading and why he was making those expressions. Last time she did so … a blush came across her face as she recalled the teasing he made due to her curiosity. How embarrassed she was that day. Luckily no one was there at the time just like today. She took another glance at him before she built up the courage to ask.

"S-Shikamaru-san … what are you r-reading?" she stuttered out.

There was an awkward silence before he responded as he flipped the next page. "Sherlock Holmes."

"O-Oh…" she muttered as she placed another book on the shelf.

"You want to borrow it like the Murder of the Orient Express?" he said as a smirked appeared on his lips. He noticed the crimson cheeks that she had as she shoved a poor book on the shelf.


	3. Three

**A/N:** I had fun writing this, especially Naruto's part since I've been there. Also a little extra for not posting in a while.

* * *

 **Little Things:** Three

* * *

Naruto's orbs went back and forth as he studied the two individuals that were shockingly ignoring each other. He did not know what caused for these two to have this silent fight, but it bugged him, especially since Hinata seemed out of it and he cared for her deeply. He also cared for Shikamaru, but Hinata has been with him since the early stages of primary school, and it was a relationship that had a profound bond. He couldn't well describe it, but he knew she had his back. So, when his two good friends were acting a little odd with each other; it bothered him. And he had a plan to fix it. Also, the club president, Chojuro, had asked him to set it as well because he had to help the drama club and couldn't be bothered by the petty dilemma. Naruto's eye gave a little twitch by the suddenly handed responsibility of a peer mediator. So, Naruto did what Naruto was best for: a direct talk.

"Neh, Shikamaru," began Naruto trying to get the attention of the teen. "Why are you in a sour mood?"

There was an awkward silence and then finally got a reaction of the lazy genius. "Way to open up that conversation," was the response the blond got. He noticed how his dark orbs landed on the female in the room which got the blond curious as to why he was upset with the timid member. "Apparently I'm a misogynist."

This comment brought a blank look from the blond. "A-Ah … _A what_?"

Shikamaru heaved out a sigh. "A misogynist is someone who hates women. Doesn't trust or believe in them."

"Oh … Uh …"

Naruto looked at Hinata's back unsure what her facial features were, but he wasn't sure that Hinata called him that. Sure, Shikamaru was the type to complain about the opposite sex, but he never got the feeling that he hated women. Nor did he not trust them, in fact, there were times where Shikamaru believed a lot in the skills of his female classmates. There were times that Shikamaru gave his female classmates support; in his way when times get difficult.

What surprised the two boys was when Hinata turned around pink in the cheeks and protested.

"That's not what I meant!" she cried out. Well, it was more of a soft proclamation of denying Shikamaru's false claims. "You know that's not what I meant…"

This comeback caught Naruto off guard. Never had he seen Hinata defending herself so quickly, perhaps there had been some situations like these - but he has never seen it with his own eyes. Man would Neji be proud at this moment.

"Then what did that comment mean?" pushed Shikamaru setting his book down ready to get some answers he had been pondering for the past forty-two hours. He did not miss how she grasped the sides of her skirt. She was frustrated, and he was pushing her buttons. This was the second time he drove her to her limit. The first being the time both of them joined the club in the first week of school. At the time he didn't know he had pushed her limits with his off-putting comment, but Shikamaru had long apologized to her when he walked her to her train stop.

Today it was her turn to apologize to him if she didn't mean what she said two days ago. Shikamaru wanted to know exactly why she called him misogynistic.

Sure, he complained about his mother and a couple of female classmates, but he never doubted or hated them. If anyone knew Yoshino or had her as a mother, they would surely complain about her parenting skills and her nagging, but she was a damn good mother who cared for his lazy ass. To all his childhood and female classmates, he never doubted their skills or intelligence, but they all seemed to have a particular characteristic that caused him to complain about them. It was a little unnerving that this timid Hyuga would call him misogynistic just because he didn't agree with her on a specific thing.

Hinata took a deep breath before her eyes locked on onyx ones. "I strongly believe that Emma did the right thing."

This comment caught Naruto off guard as he gave a confused look to Hinata. ' _Eh?_ '

Shikamaru raised his eyebrow and crossed his arms. "You strongly believe that a naïve foolish female that believes she's the best matchmaker, made the right choice to get her best friend with a shallow character?"

Naruto turned to Shikamaru. ' _Eh?_ '

"N-No! But due to those mistakes Emma was able to have some character development throughout the book and realize her wrongdoings," Hinata took a step forward and had her arms on her chest as her fingers gripped her collar just a bit. The book Emma by Jane Austin was one of her favorites, so she was a little upset that Shikamaru had insulted her favorite character. Perhaps she went over the top to call him a misogynist, and she would apologize for it later, but she wanted him to realize that Emma was a well-written protagonist. "But to call her foolish throughout the whole book is just a bit … unfair. A-Aren't there plenty of books that you've read that have a male lead make mistakes and grow out of it?"

"But none were foolish to fall -"

At this very moment, Naruto slammed his hands on the table with a dumbfounded face. "You guys are arguing over a book dattebayo?!"


	4. Four

A/N: A plot is slowly starting to come out and another short one.

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 **Little Things:** Four

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Hinata grasped the ends of her skirt as Chojuro stared at her petite figure; waiting for an answer. The whole room was eerily quiet as the club members knew that the girl was inwardly deciding what to do. The task that Chojuro assigned her was challenging and out of her comfort zone, yet it was something that only she could do since the other club members were not good at analyzing the type of material she enjoyed reading. She knew that Chojuro preferred reading historical types of books that contained heavy text in reading, Kurotsuchi was more of analyzing anthologies and biography's, Shikamaru specialized more in reading mystery and crime books that at times in his spare time he was willing to read horror, and then there was Naruto that really just enjoyed reading comics and if interested science fiction. So when Chojuro had asked her if she could help Haku, the vice president of the drama club, come up with a plot for a tragic romance play – she began to panic.

Hinata heard Naruto give her words of encouragement, "Hey Hinata, you always read those romance novels! You can do it!"

Milk-pearl eyes couldn't help to stare at his ocean ones with great concern and a bit of fear.

She enjoyed a good romance novel, but that did not make her an expert in writing one. The Hyuuga could only fantasize about the experiences that the main heroine would go through, but had she ever had those raw experiences in her life? The passion? The intensity to be together with the one you love? The answers to those questions were a simple no.

Her eyes stared at the blond haired boy giving her a thumbs up.

A weak smile appeared on her lips.

Maybe she could do it if she had enough encouragement…

"Have you ever been in love?" asked Haku with a calm demeanor as he stood next to Chojuro, who had a still expression. Naruto could only gawk while Shikamaru stared at Hinata with sympathy. Kurotsuchi's cheeks gave a blush and was about to protest for the younger girl – but the shy girl for the first time found her voice.

"Yes," replied Hinata as she had a one on one stare with Haku's dark brown eyes. "I have."

There was an awkward silence in the room until Haku broke it with a short laugh.

"Very well then," Haku began, as his lips formed a small smile. "I will ask for your assistance in writing this certain piece of the story with me. I do need some inspiration before turning in my rough draft to Nii-Sensei and the president of the drama club. "

* * *

Naruto waved goodbye at the two teenagers as he hopped on the bus to head home. Once the bus was gone, Shikamaru turned to the petite girl who could only stare at the green bus that had left. The boy had so many questions in his head that he had to ask the one that was bugging him the most.

"Does he know?" were the words that came out of his lips.

Her eyes never left at the direction where the green bus that had taken off. "Yes."

There was something that stirred in Shikamaru at that moment – he didn't pity her, instead, he began to admire her.


	5. Five

**I've realized that Shikamaru's eyes are not onyx, but are brown. Might have to do some editing in the previous chapters when I'm not feeling lazy. I'm realizing that Kurotsuchi is becoming one of my favorite characters; might have her develop a sisterly bond with Hinata later on.**

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 **Little Things:** Five

* * *

Shikamaru stared at the blond boy who at the moment was currently reading one of the most famous American books, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The expression of the blond was uninterested and at some points, Shikamaru could see his eyebrows raised in confusion as he read the book. Today it was just both teenagers in the small club room with bookcases filled with dozens of books that belonged to the club. In front of the window sill sat yellow carnation flowers resting on a small vase that Kurotsuchi found back home. The club president, Chojuro, was attending one of the school council meetings where all club presidents were to attend to see what their budget would be for the month or what activity they would participate for the school festival. Meanwhile, Kurotsuchi was with Hinata at the Drama Club; helping them write a tragic love story to perform during the summer festival.

The dark haired boy couldn't help but ask why in the world Uzumaki Naruto was reading The Great Gatsby. Out of all the books in this place, he would have never thought Naruto would read this on his own free will. Not only was the book famous for the storyline, but it had so many dozens of symbolism in each chapter – something that Shikamaru did not think Naruto would be interested.

All the blond could do was give a simple curt response. "Hinata said it was a good book to read."

Of course, the influence had to be from that girl much to Shikamaru's muse.

"She said something about finding symbols or something," muttered the blond as he flipped a page.

Shikamaru sat in his chair watching the boy flip pages with an indifferent face. He recalled the talk he had with the young female club member about her confession to the blond in front of him. He didn't understand how she had done it and is able to face him every day with a smile. Did Naruto accept her feelings or was she rejected? The answer was unclear to the Nara.

It wasn't in his nature to pry.

So he was surprised when his mouth and voice moved on its own.

"What's your relationship to Hinata?"

Blue eyes met brown. There was an awkward pause between both teenagers. Naruto couldn't help to give a smile.

* * *

The wooden door to the club room was shut; inside were the actors and the screenwriters plus two members of the literature club. The team was working in their own version of a Romeo and Juliet one of the most infamous western classical love tragic stories there are. The actors were mainly there to dissect and analyze the role they would play as the screenwriters and literature members would discuss the story and do some changes that would fit more modernly.

"I'm sure if we have Romeo avoid the fight with Juliet's cousin it would make him more likable," said one screenwriter adjusting their glasses as they spoke to the literature members.

Hinata shook her head as she disagreed with the suggestion. "I think it would be important to have this scene there to show the mental struggle that Romeo faces when he wants to have revenge for the death of his friend."

"Why on earth would you want to take away the tragic to this love story?" asked Kurotsuchi as her arms were crossed already fed up with these screenwriters. "I thought you guys wanted a tragic love story, not a fairy tale love story."

Another member of the drama club rubbed the edges of his forehead already fed up with arguing what should be kept or be thrown out of the play. "I think it's best if we call it a day and come back to it tomorrow. We're doing nothing but arguing what should be kept in a sixty-minute play."

Many members of the drama club agreed and started to head home. One female with long blond hair tied in a loose ponytail and glasses gave a slight bow to the two other females. "Thank you so much for assisting us in writing the play."

"No problem … Shiho was it?" questioned Kurotsuchi as she placed her hands on her hips. "Hopefully they do keep the tragic scenes for Romeo and Juliet."

Shiho agreed. "Yes, I also hope so too!"

Hinata excused herself from Shiho and Kurotsuchi as she currently felt like she had caused many people inconveniences today. As she stepped outside the class, she couldn't help but notice the tall figure next to her. Her head turned to the side as her milky lavender eyes met with dark brown ones. She couldn't help to blink a couple of times before calling out his name.

"Shikamaru-kun? What are you doing here?" questioned Hinata as she closed the door behind her shut.

"…Finished doing what I needed to do in the club room?" said the teen as he placed his hands inside his pockets. His school bag slid a bit down from his shoulders, his focus was on the door behind her. To the side of the door the sign 'Drama Club' read. "You are done here?"

Hinata gave a nod as she clutched a bit on her own school bag. "…Yes. I'm done for the day."

"Want me to walk you to the bus stop?" suggested Shikamaru looking out the window.

Hinata nodded her head in agreement. "Mm. Okay."

They walked down to the main entrance to retrieve the outdoor shoes. What they did not expect was Haruno Sakura and Shimura Sai to start a conversation with them.

"Hinata are you heading home?" asked Sakura as she tugged the front ends of her hair back behind her ear. Sai was next to her giving a soft greeting smile to the two literature members.

"Y-Yes," answered Hinata giving a shy nod to respond to Sai. "I-I've finished my club duties for the day."

"Great! Have you seen Naruto? He's supposed to come with us to the movie theater today since we're," she pointed at Sai and herself as she said this, "both going to be busy with Hatake-sensei's assignment on a physics project."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow and looked at the dark haired brunette male. "Aren't you a second year?"

Shimura Sai continued to smile. "Yes, it's a joint project between first years and second years who have joined the science club."

"I thought you were in the art club," replied Shikamaru completely confused why the infamous artist Shimaru Sai was suddenly placed in the science club.

Sai shrugged. "Why isn't Hatake-sensei in the literature club then? And why on earth is Uzumaki Naruto in the literature club?"

"Good point," was Nara's response.

Sakura smacked the second years shoulder. "You're an idiot," she mumbled out. "Anyway, is he still in the literature clubs room?"

Hinata looked towards Shikamaru for a response since she clearly was not at the club room the whole afternoon. Shikamaru pointed back to the direction of the stairs Hinata and he had taken before coming down. "He's back at the clubroom," he announced, "but…"

Sai, Sakura, and Hinata tilted their heads. But what?

"…He might have died with all that thinking he did today in the afternoon. The Great Gatsby gave him no mercy with those symbolisms."

"Eh?!" both girls yelped out.

"Haha, that's dickless for you."


	6. Six

**I wanted to give you all a little more cliffhanger with the interactions of Hinata and Naruto.**

* * *

 **Little Things:** Six

* * *

Two weeks ago, Hinata would have been reading back at the literature club as she would normally do. However lately since taking on the assignment of screenwriting a play and going over character analyzation and plot events, she was spending more and more time at the drama club than anything. If she was being honest with herself, she would rather much go back to the literature club with Naruto and Shikamaru – they weren't as high energy as some of these drama members were, and that was saying something since Naruto was a ball of sunshine!

"HI-NA-TA-CH-AN!" cried out Yamanaka Ino as she hugged the dark-haired girl.

Yamanaka Ino was a member of the Drama Club. Hinata knew this because since primary school Ino had always boasted that her dream job was to become an international actress. Hinata admired the blond for her aspiration and determination on working for her dream goal. There were some rumors at school that a popular teen magazine brand had asked Ino to become a model. Hinata wondered if Ino had taken the job offer. "Guess what?! I have so much to tell you since you left yesterday!"

Hinata gave a meek laugh as she tried to loosen the hug from Ino. It wasn't that Hinata was uncomfortable with the hug from Ino, but people in the hallways were watching them now and it got her a little nervous to be next to an inspiring model and future global actress. "W-What c-could have h-h-happened in less t-than twenty-four h-hours Ino-san?"

Ino stared at the girl with a smile. "Hehe, I got a boyfriend!"

"E-Eh?"

Ino continuously nodded as she dragged Hinata out of the hallway and into the drama club practice theater. "So let me tell you the short version of my beginnings of a high school romance!" she began to gossip about her potential love life that honestly Hinata didn't know if she was interested, amused, or astonished. "Mind you he's not the best of the best, but I'll take what I can get."

"T-That's a little…"

"Oh, I don't mean it in a bad way! He's pretty nice actually! Very shy though … gotta work on that, but honestly…" and she ranted on and on about her new boyfriend. Hinata was overwhelmed by the sudden heavy information she was receiving by the blond that she didn't notice when two of her club members came in and noticed the dazed Hinata with Ino. Both Naruto and Shikamaru winced at the scene and were wondering if it was the best time and place to ask for her opinion. Shikamaru was the first one to turn around and head out, but his companion was willing to help out his friend.

"Oi Ino! You're gonna kill Hinata with all your yapping!" cried out Naruto pointing an accusing finger at her.

Ino cried out in protest. "NO IM NOT YOU IDIOT!"

"Say that to my face!"

"I AM YOU, IDIOT!"

"Troublesome…" sighed Shikamaru as he rubbed his thumb above his nose bridge. His attention turned to Hinata who watched the two blonds bicker with one another. He could join her, but decided not to since the noise level of the theater was beginning to become louder as each second passed by. Honestly, why these two argued so much every time stumped him. Shikamaru always wondered when his childhood friend Ino would meet her match; apparently, the world decided to give her Naruto as one of her competitors. At least it wasn't as bad as Ino and Sakura going at each other. That itself was something the world doesn't need again.

"H-How do we s-stop this?" muttered out Hinata nervously twirling her index fingers together. Shikamaru noticed this type of behavior when she began to become nervous about any situation. Scratching the back of his head, the Nara teen decided to put a halt on these two blonds for the sake of not just Hinata, but anyone in the theater who were watching these two.

"Oi Ino. Naruto. You two are causing a scene," he bluntly stated. "It's gonna get all of us kicked out if you two don't stop it. I'm sure Haku-senpai doesn't tolerate this type of behavior…"

"You're right Shikamaru."

The four teens turned to look back at a smiling Haku and a disappointed Chojuro who was massaging his forehead to calm himself down.

"Senpai!" cried out the blonds together.

"Yamanaka-san," started Haku stepping towards the group. "I believe the actors are rehearsing the lines, I believe you should join them. After all, you do have an important role in this."

Ino heaved out a sigh and glared at Naruto afterward. "This is all your fault," she whispered to the other blond.

"How is it my fault?!" Naruto whispered angrily.

"I'll be heading to practice, Haku-senpai. I'll see you around Hinata-chan!" She gave the petite girl a hug before heading towards the other actors in the theater. All three first-year literature club members watched her happily skip her way with no care in the world.

Really, Shikamaru couldn't understand that teenage girl no matter how many times his mother had told him before that Ino was an incredibly sweet girl. Shikamaru crossed his arms and sighed as he looked back at the upperclassmen. Now how were they going to get out of this one?

"I must apologize Hyuuga-san, Yamanaka-san is quite a character and a sweet girl with a good heart," Haku stated as he stood next to Hinata. "I'm sure you'll get to know her better as the days get closer to the culture festival."

Hinata, going back to her nervous tick, twirled her fingers even more. "I-I know I-Ino-san from p-primary sch-school, I k-know how she c-can be…" she stuttered out as her face began to turn red in front of her upperclassmen. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow as he watched her stumble with her words. Naruto walked up next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Hehe, Hinata and Ino go way back to the second year of primary school Haku!" beamed Naruto as he began to be part of their conversation. "Neh, Hinata remembers when Ino proclaimed to the whole school she was gonna be some superstar or something? Iruka-sensei had an earful from the principal that day!"

Hinata stopped her twirling as she noticed what Naruto was doing. Her eyes were focused on him.

"And remember when Ino beat up that Kankuro kid during that misunderstanding? That was hilarious! It's the first time I've ever seen that guy cry for his sister!"

Something inside Shikamaru bothered him as he watched Hinata's gaze towards Naruto. Something wasn't right and his gut was telling him to watch the petite club member for a while. Brown eyes noticed that Naruto's hand was still on her shoulder and that her hands were no longer twirling out of nervousness. What Shikamaru did not expect was what was going to happen next.

Hinata's vision began to suddenly blur. Her heartbeat began to quicken and her feet began to give in to gravity.

"Hinata…?" Chojuro stepped forward, but a little too late when her body began to fall down backward. "Shikamaru catch her!"

And so he did as she gracefully fell down backward. Naruto gawked at the sudden faint spell that had happened – and it had been years since Hinata had suddenly fainted on him! Shikamaru adjusted his balance to make sure that Hinata was safe in his arms and she wouldn't fall off to the floor.

"Hinata?!"


End file.
